Coaches' perception of catastrophic injuries risks in South African Rugby Union : A qualitative exploration through a socio-ecological lens
type: CreativeWork
description: Introduction: The annual rate of rugby-related catastrophic injuries (CIs) in South Africa has been classified as "acceptable". However, of all injuries, CIs are the most traumatic for all involved. Therefore, the BokSmart programme was introduced in South Africa to reduce CIs by training all coaches in safe coaching principles. South Africa presents a particularly difficult implementation context for injury prevention interventions due to large variations in socio-economic statuses (SES) of sport participants. In addition, individuals are known to accept perceived levels of risks and ignore the actual levels of risks. Thus, rugby policy makers, experts, coaches and players may have conflicting views regarding CIs risks associated with the sport. In rugby, objective measures of risks such as risk probability are well defined however; little is known about how rugby coaches perceive the risks of CIs in rugby. This is a concern for rugby governing bodies such as SARU because coaches' perceptions of CIs risks could play a role in their adoption of BokSmart coaching principles. Additionally, risk perceptions of South African rugby coaches may vary by SES. Socio-Ecological Models (SEM) give attention to the intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal influences that affect the perceptions of coaches from various SES settings. Using qualitative methods, the aim of this research was to explore South African rugby coaches' perceptions of CIs, through the lens of a SEM. Methods: Six semi-structured focus groups were conducted with junior and senior coaches from three tiers of SES settings: low, middle and high. An additional focus group was conducted with rugby referees' to corroborate evidence from the coaches' focus groups. For analysis, a thematic framework was developed based on factors that were found to influence risk perceptions from catastrophic event studies. Themes were: 1) SES, 2) Knowledge of rugby and CIs, 3) CIs experience, 4) Cognitive biases, 5) Attitudes and i…
abstract: Introduction: The annual rate of rugby-related catastrophic injuries (CIs) in South Africa has been classified as "acceptable". However, of all injuries, CIs are the most traumatic for all involved. Therefore, the BokSmart programme was introduced in South Africa to reduce CIs by training all coaches in safe coaching principles. South Africa presents a particularly difficult implementation context for injury prevention interventions due to large variations in socio-economic statuses (SES) of sport participants. In addition, individuals are known to accept perceived levels of risks and ignore the actual levels of risks. Thus, rugby policy makers, experts, coaches and players may have conflicting views regarding CIs risks associated with the sport. In rugby, objective measures of risks such as risk probability are well defined however; little is known about how rugby coaches perceive the risks of CIs in rugby. This is a concern for rugby governing bodies such as SARU because coaches' perceptions of CIs risks could play a role in their adoption of BokSmart coaching principles. Additionally, risk perceptions of South African rugby coaches may vary by SES. Socio-Ecological Models (SEM) give attention to the intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal influences that affect the perceptions of coaches from various SES settings. Using qualitative methods, the aim of this research was to explore South African rugby coaches' perceptions of CIs, through the lens of a SEM. Methods: Six semi-structured focus groups were conducted with junior and senior coaches from three tiers of SES settings: low, middle and high. An additional focus group was conducted with rugby referees' to corroborate evidence from the coaches' focus groups. For analysis, a thematic framework was developed based on factors that were found to influence risk perceptions from catastrophic event studies. Themes were: 1) SES, 2) Knowledge of rugby and CIs, 3) CIs experience, 4) Cognitive biases, 5) Attitudes and i…
author: Joshua, Jonathan
language: eng
date published: 2017
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:34:19Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27281